Will Treads Shoes End our School Footwear Shopping Sprees?

As the Content Editor for Tots100 I recently posed a question to all of our parent bloggers … “How’s things going with your child’s school shoes?” I asked because I had found myself – again – out shopping for shoes for Millie-Mae and Toby. I’ve tried everything – expensive, branded / inexpensive, discounted … yet the best we’ve managed is 6 weeks before the damage kicks in. School shoes get ruined so quickly, I honestly didn’t know what to try next. It’s so frustrating.

My Tots100 research brought a new brand to my attention, Treads Shoes, and the feedback was really good. But then, aren’t Dr Martens meant to survive a lifetime? (In our case the stitching came apart after 4 weeks ☹). Treads Shoes even come with a 12 months guarantee. Well, I got two pairs to try. Before talking about them, let me talk about our experience of school shoes this last year …

School Shoes – Past

Millie-Mae

For the last two years the main issue we’ve had with buying school shoes for Millie-Mae is that her feet exceed the size of most school shoes. She’s only 12, but her feet are an adult size 8 (more recently more of an 8.5). As a teenager, she has fixed ideas on what she will/will not wear. Luckily for us she prefers bulky shoes.

Historically the main problems we’ve had with Millie’s school shoes is that she outgrew them really quickly. Once the growing settled down, she wore the heels down on one corner (both feet). She doesn’t have particularly wide feet, but if there’s stitching at the widest part of the shoe, it tends to come apart. Repairing the shoes isn’t viable because of the costs involved.

She started September in a pair of black patent leather Dr Martens. They were in a sale in a discount shoe shop. Within 5 weeks the stitching had started to come loose, and the sole – on both shoes – was coming away from the upper! We bought some expensive shoe glue to stick them back down, and they lasted until Christmas, but the loose stitching ruined the look of the shoes.

Toby

Toby is 10 and his feet are now size 6. With the exception of this last year, his feet have grown really slowly. He used to get good wear from a pair of shoes, and shoes from Clarks usually lasted a good while. But with this growth spurt, he seems to be wearing out shoes quicker than ever before. He plays on the school field in all weather and his shoes – though structurally ok – look really scruffy.

Toby started school in September wearing shoes from Dobell. We’ve bought these before, and they used to last well. The recent pair though, like Millie’s, just about survived until Christmas.

School Shoes – Present

Millie-Mae

Grandma bought her some replacement school shoes from Clarks. Not from the school shoe range of course as her feet are too large – these were from their working/office range. Adult shoes cost more than children’s shoes (more tax?) so it’s never a cheap shopping spree. In fairness, these shoes have done ‘ok’. They’ve been worn one full term now, and this is how they look:

Millie-Mae’s old school shoes

The heels have worn down quite a lot, but however much we polish them, they never seem to look nice now. They are dull. And with a few school events and trips planned, she wanted shiny new ones.

Toby

With the expense that the festivities bring, I couldn’t afford £50 for a new pair at the start of January, so instead ordered some Ben Sherman ones from the SportsDirect sale (£11 if I remember correctly). This is them:

Toby’s worn Ben Sherman shoes

The material inside the shoe has perished, but the shoes are at least in one piece. Like Millie’s previous shoes, it was impossible to polish the shoes to look anything like presentable. But in fairness to them, they did last the term. New ones were needed though.

School Shoes – Future

So, let’s look at Treads Shoes: A brand raved about by many parent bloggers. What first struck me when looking at their website is that they had shoes that fit Millie-Mae! OK, they are from the boys’ range, but this is what she likes anyway. She opted for a pair in the Brooklyn style (size 8).

Millie-Mae chose a pair of Brooklyn shoes, size 8

Toby hates shoes with laces. He can do laces up, but he takes forever (and they come undone again), so I’m happy for him to pick Velcro or slip-on shoes if that’s what he wants. He picked a pair of ‘Monaco’ slip-ons (size 6).

Toby chose a pair of Monaco slip-on shoes

Of course, I could take photos of the brand new, shiny shoes, to post here – but it would be an unfair comparison with their old shoes. Instead for the last two weeks of the Spring term, both children wore them to school. And THEN I photographed them …

New Treads Shoes, after two week’s wear

I know it’s only two weeks of wear, but I think they still look ‘as new’.

The Treads Shoes story

Treads Shoes was set up by a frustrated dad who was fed up replacing his child’s school shoes on a regular basis. Like me, he had bought expensive ones and cheaper ones, but neither were durable. He had worked in the shoe industry and realised that, in general, materials used in school shoes are not of the best quality – not compared to shoes designed for industrial and construction use. So, he set about taking quality materials, and applying the styling of an industrial shoe, to make a school shoe. It took lots of prototypes and testing before he launched the range of shoes on the website today.

About the shoes

Inside the shoe box is a leaflet introducing the brand. There’s an infographic that details the technology and materials used in Treads Shoes. This includes:

• Reinforced heels
• Fused sole (a flexible injection moulded sole that is hardwearing, non-slip and non-marking)
• Texon cellulose board to reinforce sole and wick away moisture
• Scuff proof (made to withstand bumps and scrapes)
• Reinforced seams for additional strength
• Permair leather (breathable and water resistant)
• Easy clean – maintenance free wipe clean surface

Each pair of shoes also comes with a choice of insoles. They are called ‘dual fit’ as you can remove insoles to make the shoes a little wider, and deeper. Luckily for us, with all three soles in place, the shoes fit perfectly.

12 months guarantee

Treads Shoes come with a 12 months guarantee, which covers everything except the in-sock or laces. Obviously, the guarantee doesn’t cover shoes if they have been abused or used as a scooter brake! So, if the sole splits, or the stitching fails, a strap breaks or the leather upper cracks – they’ll be replaced. Just once though, and for the same size and style.

Well? What do we think?

It’s too early to say, of course, if these shoes will see the children through to the summer holidays. My gut feeling is that they will, as they feel different to other school shoes we’ve bought. They are light, but they are solid. They look good too, which is important.

Time will tell if these become our ‘go to’ brand for school shoes. But I’m hopeful … and I desperately want them to be a success! I’d love not to worry about financing school shoes every term!